Three medical professionals from the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China arrived in Hikkaduwa on Jan. 8 to reinforce a Chinese medical team that had worked in the tsunami-hit region for six days.

The three volunteers, including a specialist in general surgery,a physician on intensive care unit (ICU) and a first-aid nurse, will start work on Sunday despite an exhausting 19-hour journey by plane and by car.

Wang Bingqiang, head of the Chinese medical team, said their arrival would help his team fulfill a larger workload.

"With more physicians here, we can also take turns to have a rest during heavy work," he added.

Wang said the three also brought badly-needed medicines such as disinfects and antibiotics, which could effectively ease the drug shortage faced by the team.

The first batch of 14 Chinese medical rescuers arrived last Monday at Hikkaduwa, a southern coastal town that was among the hardest hit regions in the tsunamis on Dec. 26. They had so far treated more than 800 local people.

On Saturday, medics and social workers from South Korea, Greece and Cuba also arrived in the country to join relief efforts.

Source: Xinhua